As far as Alon could remember, the face of Nangwon, the head of the Order he saw in Psychedelia, was utterly miserable.

To the point that—

In the community, Nangwon was even described as "a face that invites malice."

Alon agreed with that evaluation as well.

It felt almost like the developers were trying to show, “We can go this far.”

The visuals were revolting.

That’s why Alon wore an expression of complete incomprehension as he looked at the man in front of him.

‘Nangwon… this guy?’

The voice was very similar, so he was able to recognize him.

Even at this moment of correctly guessing that this man was Nangwon, Alon found it hard to accept.

The face of Nangwon in Psychedelia and the face before him now were drastically different.

Still, it wouldn’t be right to keep zoning out in front of Nangwon, so Alon pulled himself together.

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“Yes, sir… Thanks to you, I’ve been able to keep living…!”

“And this here is—”

“It’s Nangyeon, Sir Alon.”

“…You’ve grown a lot.”

“Of course I have. It’s been such a long time. I’m glad to see the Marquis is also doing well.”

Nangwon leaned his face in a bit too close, rather awkwardly.

And Nangyeon had clearly matured much more than in the past.

After briefly exchanging greetings with the siblings, Alon asked a question that had come to mind.

“By the way, your eyes… what happened?”

Nangwon’s eyes were supposed to be reversed pupils.

But now, his eyes looked just like those of a normal person.

“Oh, I’ve temporarily concealed my appearance. We’re a bit unusual now, after all.”

Nangwon smiled, then removed a ring from his finger, as did his sister.

At that, Nangwon’s face began to change.

Only then did Alon realize that Nangwon had been using an artifact to look like a young man, and he nodded.

But only for a moment.

Alon’s eyes widened even more.

The face that returned after removing the ring—

Other than the eyes turning black, there was barely any difference.

No, it wasn’t just that there wasn’t much difference—

…He looked more handsome.

‘Is he even the same person? It’s like his genes were modified.’

The difference was so drastic, Alon wondered if the Nangwon he saw in Psychedelia was actually a different character altogether.

As Alon stared at him blankly—

“This is just broken balance…”

Evan, who had also been looking at Nangwon, muttered the very same thought that had crossed Alon’s mind.

“Sir?”

Called back to reality, Alon cleared his throat and said,

“I just meant—you’ve grown up well.”

“Is that so?”

Nangwon scratched his head awkwardly.

No matter how he looked, it was too different.

Though flustered by the mismatch between memory and reality, Alon sent the two siblings ahead to the tearoom for further conversation.

“Let’s go as well.”

After finishing a small task, Alon was about to follow Evan to the tearoom when—

“…My lord.”

“What is it?”

Evan stopped Alon with a very serious tone.

Then—

“By any chance… are you close with the person who just visited?”

He asked, uncharacteristically shy.

Alon, raising an eyebrow, still nodded.

“Yes, one of the old connections I mentioned before.”

“T-then, could I ask you to check something for me?”

“What is it?”

“Um, whether that person… has a lover or… you know what I mean, right?”

Evan flushed for no reason.

What on earth was he talking about?

“Ah.”

Understanding Evan’s meaning, Alon placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Evan…”

“Yes.”

“Is that your type?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Nangwon is a man.”

Evan wore a blank expression for a moment—

Then let out a laugh in disbelief.

“My lord, you didn’t think I was talking about him, did you?”

“Weren’t you?”

“No! I was talking about the woman behind him!”

“…The woman? You mean Nangyeon?”

“Yes!”

Seeing Evan’s (apparently) indignant expression, Alon nodded for a brief moment.

“…Alright, I’ll ask.”

“Thank you.”

Alon gently comforted the unusually excited Evan as they headed for the tearoom together.

####

The conversation with Nangwon lasted quite a while.

They talked about how Nangwon had lived over the past 700 years.

Alon also learned about the races of the Order that weren’t shown in Psychedelia.

“So, most of the Order members are surviving half-demons from back then?”

“That’s right, sir. Not all of them, but the majority are.”

Alon nodded.

In Psychedelia, most Order members were either fully covered or shown as black mist.

He hadn’t realized most of them were half-demons.

“You’ve done well all this time.”

“No, I couldn’t have done it alone. It’s all thanks to you, sir.”

“…Because of me?”

“Yes. You showed me the path.”

Seeing the admiration in Nangwon’s eyes, Alon recalled the last words he had said to him.

‘Live righteously,’ was it?

He had said it just in case, knowing that Nangwon would later become the king of the Order, one of the four major powers, and not exactly a nice one at that.

“If it weren’t for you… I don’t know how I’d be living now.”

Nangwon gave Alon all the credit.

“I only pointed the way. You’re the one who brought the half-demons together and found a way to survive.”

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Alon replied calmly.

“No, it really is thanks to you, sir.”

“I think so too.”

Nangwon and Nangyeon answered firmly.

“You might not think it was that big of a deal, Sir Alon… but to us, who had nothing, those words meant everything.”

Nangyeon said with a smile.

Alon scratched his head, slightly bashful for no reason.

A warmth bloomed from a corner of his heart, and at the same time, he felt a strange sense of pride.

In the end, Nangwon had formed the group known as the Order.

But just as Alon had feared, he was neither in a pitiful state nor consumed by power.

‘Looking at it this way, the Order is very different from the one I knew in the original work.’

While Alon was immersed in his positive thoughts—

“Ah, and there’s something else I need to tell you.”

“…What is it?”

Nangwon brought up two new topics.

One was about someone selling abyssal creatures on the black market.

And the other—

“…Blue eyes?”

“Yes.”

It was about a man with blue eyes.

“To be honest, I’ve known that you were in this era for about 300 years.”

“…Three hundred years?”

“Yes, but even so, the reason I didn’t come to see you was precisely because of those blue eyes.”

Nangwon slightly frowned, as if recalling that moment.

“He warned me not to approach you.”

“Not to approach me?”

“Yes, he clearly said so.”

“What was the reason?”

“He didn’t tell me. He just said that our connection might disappear, then vanished.”

“So that’s why you didn’t come to find me?”

When Nangwon nodded, Nangyeon, standing beside him, added, “The truth is, we both wanted to come see you, but what that man with blue eyes showed us… made us hesitate.”

“…What did he show you?”

When Alon asked, Nangyeon looked at her brother.

Nangwon then shared his assumption.

“I think it was… a memory.”

“A memory?”

“Yes, a memory of the world’s destruction.”

Alon’s curiosity about the blue-eyed man surged to the top of his mind.

‘Just who is that guy?’

Alon tried to piece together what he knew about him.

He had taken the ring from Alon.

Handed it to Magrina.

He was a being who had lived for more than 700 years.

…Putting it all together only made things more confusing.

Wondering to himself, Alon asked, just in case.

But the answer Nangwon gave was the same as Magrina's.

Just who was he?

“So you don’t know about the blue eyes either, do you?”

“No. But it is a little bothersome.”

“…I’ve been trying to gather as much information as I can since then, but I’ll look into it more thoroughly.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

As Alon nodded, Nangyeon spoke up this time.

“Oh, and even though we couldn’t come see you, we’ve been helping you all along.”

“…Helping me?”

“Yes, with this.”

Nangyeon pulled a document from inside her cloak.

A black-colored document.

Alon didn’t understand at first, but soon realized it was a document issued by the information guild.

He looked at Nangyeon with a speculative gaze, and—

“You’re right, Sir Alon.”

She gently smiled.

“I’m the leader of the information guild, no—of ‘Darkness at the End of Night.’”

She revealed the truth.

“I’ve always done my best to find the things you’re curious about and provide help.”

“…I thought the speed was impressive, but—”

“Right? And I also gathered and passed along rumors from around you.”

Muttering “all for free,” Nangyeon smiled calmly.

Looking at her serene expression, Alon was impressed.

As far as he knew, the leader of ‘The Darkness at the End of Night’ had never been revealed.

‘No, in the original work, it must’ve been someone else. After all, the reason Nangwon became twisted in the original was because his sister had died.’

Then suddenly, one word made Alon tilt his head.

“Nangyeon.”

“Yes?”

“Just to make sure, did you say ‘for free’?”

“Yes, it’s free.”

Nangyeon confirmed it once again.

At that, a new suspicion was born in Alon’s mind.

Up until now, every time he used the information guild, he had been consistently giving money to Evan.

Wondering what was going on, Alon glanced sideways.

፡፡

And there stood Evan, awkwardly twisting his neck.

“…Evan.”

“…Yes.”

“…Is it true?”

He didn’t ask at length.

Evan, glancing around nervously, replied,

“No, my lord, it’s not like that—I’ve been saving it little by little. Surely you don’t think I pocketed it all?”

He immediately began defending himself with everything he had.

[Hoo~ So all that drinking and splurging near the estate last time… that money must’ve come from this.]

“You damn snake-headed bastard!”

Not long after, Basiliora’s ‘testimony’ rang out,

Evan let out a scream.

“…Let’s talk about this later.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Evan confessed cleanly.

With the embezzlement issue temporarily settled—

“Ah, now that I think of it, I had a gift to give you, but I forgot.”

“…A gift?”

“Yes! Nangwon brought a few things to give to you, my lord.”

Thus began Nangwon’s gift time.

####

Somewhere in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Ashtalon.

Right after dealing with the strange gate that had opened near the estate.

As night fell, Eliban's party set up camp in the forest.

Among them was the mage Yan.

“Eliban?”

“Yeah?”

“What are you doing here?”

He spotted Eliban tending a fire in one corner of the camp.

“Oh, just dealing with something real quick.”

Eliban answered lightly.

When Yan turned his gaze, he saw something like black cloth engulfed in flames.

“What’s that?”

“Something I used to use.”

“…You used it, and now you’re burning it?”

To that question, Eliban gave an unreadable smile.

Then he stood up and looked at Yan.

“Yeah. I don’t need it anymore.”

He replied cheerfully.

“Alright then, let’s go back to camp.”

“Ah, okay.”

Eliban began walking back to the camp with Yan.

Then, suddenly turning around, he looked at the blazing black cloth.

…With eyes as deeply blue as ever.